Venus Loses In Round 3 Of Olympics While Serena Advances

WIMBLEDON, England – After having to wait an extra day in the opening round before defeating recent French Open runner-up Sara Errani of Italy to begin her bid for a record fourth gold medal in Olympic tennis, Venus Williams squandered a lead in each set on Aug. 1 for a third-round loss at the Olympics.

Seventh-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany defeated Williams 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5). She still has a shot in doubles with her sister Serena Williams.

In the first set, Venus failed to convert three set points, then blew a 5-1 lead in the tiebreaker. She was up 3-1 in the second set, but Kerber again charged back.

Kerber, a semifinalist at Wimbledon last month and at the U.S. Open last year, advanced to the quarterfinals against top-seeded Victoria Azarenka.

Serena Williams beat Urszula Radwanska of Poland, 6-2, 6-3 in the second round of the Olympics at Wimbledon on July 30.

Serena’s win over Radwanska’s sister, Agnieszka, in the Wimbledon final this year, and her recent win over Urszula, completed a July sweep of the Radwanska sisters of Poland.

Meanwhile, the Williams sisters advanced to the quarterfinals in Olympic doubles on July 31 by beating Angelique Kerber and Sabine Lisicki of Germany, 6-2, 7-5.

Serena also announced on Tuesday she has decided against playing mixed doubles at the Olympics, and the two U.S. teams will instead feature four doubles specialists – the Bryan brothers, Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond.